Worksheet for calculating the distance from the Earth to Pluto

This worksheet accompanies the full exercise for estimating the distance from Earth to Pluto using pictures taken at the RIT Observatory on July 4 and July 7, 2010.



Task A:
How far does Pluto appear to jump from July 3 to July 7, in arcseconds?



Task B:
How far, dE, does the Earth move between the two pictures, in km?



Task C:
What is your value for the distance L between the Earth and Pluto, in km?



Task D:
What is your value for the distance L between the Earth and Pluto, expressed in AU?



Task E:
Use your first, rough guess for the distance between Earth and Pluto and the equation above to calculate the speed of Pluto in its orbit.



Task F:
How far dP does Pluto move during the period between the two pictures, in km?



Task G:
What is the distance L2 from Pluto to the skinny end of the big triangle, in AU?



Task H:
What is your value for the improved distance L1 from the Earth to Pluto, in AU? How does this new value compare with the actual distance of 30.9 AU?